A yearning to recapture an early and wondrous time in one Bayonne woman’s life has morphed into a grand celebration of fun, camaraderie, and community in the revival of the Bayonne Hometown Fair on Saturday, June 6 and Sunday, June 7.
For Carrissa Golomb, owner of Reese’s Hair Pieces on 24th Street, a children’s clothing and accessories company, it’s memories of going as a child with family members to the then two-mile long fair on Broadway in the 1990s that spurred her to act.
Like the Bayonne generation before her, which delighted in the former Uncle Milty’s Playland at the foot of Bayonne, Golomb’s age group was delighted by the fair.
The plans that began about a year and a half ago will come to fruition as thousands will enjoy a scaled-down version of the fair.
Golomb, the fair’s executive director, said that when she began selling her accessories line she would go to out of town fairs, which gave her the idea to revive the fair.
In fall 2013, she started petition drives, collecting several hundred signatures in a matter of days. Last year, she met with Mayor James Davis, shortly after he took office, to solicit his buy in.
“He was very interested,” Golomb said. “The minute I went there, he was completely on board.”
The more things change …
The fair had gone through a number of iterations through the years, from about two miles long, to one mile, to a less successful try in the city’s county park, according to Terrence Malloy, Bayonne’s chief financial officer and Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ) coordinator.
In this year’s remake the fair will encompass five city blocks and two parking lots in the vicinity of 22nd to 24th streets and Broadway to Del Monte Drive.
The highlight for many this year will be the 50-foot Ferris wheel, which can be seen on logos and posters.
Pete Amadeo is on the Hometown Fair Committee with Golomb, Malloy, Councilman Sal Gullace and others.
“It is going to be a gathering of neighbors and friends. That’s how I see it.” – Carrissa Golomb
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He said Del Monte Drive will be chockfull of activity, with other rides, about 10 inflatable play houses, face painting, and more.
“We’ll have the mini-golf course open, for those who want to enjoy that activity,” Amadeo said.
There will also be the staging area there, with several bands playing diverse types of music.
Live demonstrations will run the gamut from karate and youth cheerleading to possibly dance and cooking instructions.
“It’s going to be a good fair and a lot of fun, especially for the kids,” Amadeo said.
As with the National Night Out held each August on Del Monte, police vehicles will be parked for children to hop in and get the feel of a police officer on patrol.
CarePoint Health will be in attendance with a mobile unit for screenings.
A number of nonprofit groups will also be there with public information and other displays.
Vendors will include souvenir sellers and food retailers offering an array of culinary delights.
The fair will be a self-sustaining entity, with money to fund it coming from vendor fees. The inflatable bounce houses will be free and paid for by the UEZ.
Like most other fairs, mechanical rides will cost extra, but will be affordable, according to Golomb.
More fairs
If the event engenders goodwill and camaraderie, the goal is to continue to stage the affair for years to come.“It is going to be a gathering of neighbors and friends,” she said. “That’s how I see it.”
Bayonne Community Bank is the biggest sponsor of the event. Others include Bogdan Orthodontics, Reese’s, Titan Tactical, Aaron’s Gold, Screen Savers/ELITE, Griffen Security, Bayonne Exterminating, Chris Piechocki, Kayla Ruth Kreations, McCabe’s Ambulance, The Forum, Bergen Medical Sports and Spine, and Herbert’s Army & Navy.
For more information on the Bayonne Hometown Fair, go to the event’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/search/str/bayonne%20hometown%20fair/keywords_top, or email Golomb at carrissagolomb@gmail.com.
Joseph Passantino may be reached at JoePass@hudsonreporter.com.To comment on this story online visit www.hudsonreporter.com.